Podolski sidelined by hamstring injury

06 December 2012 05:47

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Lukas Podolski will miss Arsenal's Barclays Premier League clash with West Brom on Saturday because of a short-term hamstring problem.

Theo Walcott, Bacary Sagna and Laurent Koscielny have also been lost to injury - calf, foot and thigh respectively - as the Gunners attempt to bounce back from successive defeats to Swansea and Olympiacos.

"From Tuesday night in Greece there are no new injuries so we have a selection from the combined squad of Tuesday and Saturday," manager Arsene Wenger told the club's official site. "Podolski's injury is a hamstring. It should be short-term. Andre Santos will not be ready for Saturday but he is not far away with an abdominal injury."

Arsenal's busy treatment room is a major setback as Wenger plots an end to the club's worst start to a Premier League season which has left them 10th in the table, five points off fourth place.

Wenger's position is under renewed scrutiny and the Frenchman is facing the prospect of losing another of his senior players in Sagna, who is reportedly unhappy with the terms of the 12-month contract extension he has been offered.

The 29-year-old France right-back believes it is time for the Gunners to start delivering.

"We just need to be wiser. We have had the opportunity to win games, and for some reason we don't," Sagna told Arsenal Player. "We need to work on it. We need to stay focused on the pitch and we need to work harder during training sessions. If we do that everything will be fine. I don't worry about it.

"Everyone is good in the Premier League. Everyone can beat everyone. The top teams are the most consistent ones. They just go game by game and want to take points. We have to step up and show the opposition who is on top. We've made some mistakes in the past and now we want to impose ourselves on our season."

Sagna insisted he is content with life at Arsenal after seeing his career stall following two broken legs in the last year.

"I'm very happy. I'm very happy to be back to football and to play for Arsenal and I'm looking forward to playing more games this season because I've been injured lately," he said.